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BV  4920  .V48  1867 
Nevin,  Alfred,  1816-1890 
Words  of  comfort  for 
doubting  hearts 


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Words  of  Comfort 


for 


DOUBTING  HEARTS. 


BY 


ALFRED  NEVIN,  D.D. 


Whereby  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it!— Gen.  xv.  8. 
A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall 
uench.— Matt.  xii.  20. 

For  he  that  is  not  against  us  is  on  our  part. — Mark  ix.  40. 


NEW    YORK: 

Anson    D.    F.    Randolph, 

770  Broadway. 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867, 

By  Anson  D.  F.  Randolph, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  U.  S.  for 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


E.    0.     JENKINS,     PRINTER    AND    STEREOTYPE*, 
20     NORTH     WILLIAM     ST.,     N.    Y. 


"  Two  things  may  quiet  any  man's  conscience  under 
the  greatest  guilt.  1.  Is  there  not  a  sufficient  sacrifice? 
Is  there  not  satisfaction  and  atonement  in  the  blood  of 
Christ  ?  Is  not  this  a  sufficient  sacrifice  ?  2.  Is  it  thine  ? 
This  I  know  unbelief  is  apt  to  stagger  at,  bur  do  but  lay 
the  hand  of  thy  faith  upon  the  head  of  the  sacrifice,  and 
confess  and  forsake  thy  sins,  and  all  that  Christ  hath  done 
shall  be  as  effectual  for  thy  good  as  if  thou  thyself  hadst 
suffered,  yea,  infinitely  more." — Mather. 

••We  cannot  expect  spiritual  thoughts  and  affections 
from  truths  which  are  but  imperfectly  uuderstood,  or 
doubtfully  and  feebly  believed."— J".  A.  James. 

••Satan,  in  his  temptations,  strikes  principally  at  the 
faith  of  God's  people,  that  being  the  grace  which  gives 
most  glory  to  God,  aud  in  the  exercise  of  which  believers 
have  much  peace,  joy  and  comfort ;  and  it  is  also  a  shield 
which  keeps  off  and  quenches  his  fiery  darts,  and  there- 
fore he  endeavors  all  he  can  to  weaken  and  destroy  it,  or 
wrest  it  out  of  their  hands."— Dr.  Gill. 

"When  we  look  at  our  great  High  Priest  in  faith,  we 
may  look  at  ourselves  (bad  as  we  are)  without  despair,  at 
our  enemies  (however  many)  without  fear,  at  our  trials 
(however  great)  without  repining,  and  at  our  duties  (how- 
ever difficult)  without  discouragement." — Cox. 

"Sinners  can  do  nothing  but  make  wounds  that  Christ 
may  heal  them,  and  make  debts  that  He  may  pay  them, 
and  make  falls  that  He  may  raise  them,  and  make  deaths 
that  He  may  quicken  them,  and  spin  out  and  dig  hells  for 
themselves  that  He  may  ransom  them.  Now  I  will  bless 
the  Lord  that  ever  there  was  such  a  thing  as  the  free  grace 
of  God,  and  a  free  ransom  given  for  sold  souls :  only, 
alas  I  guiltiness  maketh  me  ashamed  to  apply  to  Christ, 

(iii.) 


IV  WORDS  OF  COMFORT. 

and  to  think  it  pride  in  me  to  put  out  my  unclean  and 
withered  hand  to  such  a  Saviour  !   But  it  is  neither  shame 
nor  pride  for  a  drowning  man  to  swim  to  a  rock,  nor  for  a 
ship-broken  soul  to  run  himself  ashore  upon  Christ." — 
Eutherford. 

"  Cling  to  the  Crucified : 
His  death  is  life  to  thee — 
Life  for  eternity ! 
His  pains  thy  pardon  seal ; 
His  stripes  thy  bruises  heal, 
His  cross  proclaims  thy  peace, 
Bids  every  sorrow  cease. 
His  blood  is  all  to  thee, 
It  purges  thee  from  sin  ; 
It  sets  thy  spirit  free, 
It  keeps  thy  conscience  clean, 
Cling  to  the  Crucified ! 

"  Cling  to  the  Crucified  : 
His  is  a  heart  of  love, 
Full  as  the  hearts  above, 
Its  depths  of  sympathy 
Are  all  awake  for  thee. 
His  countenance  is  light, 
Even  in  the  darkest  night. 
That  love  shall  never  change, 
That  light  shall  ne'er  grow  dim. 
Change  thou  thy  faithless  heart 
To  find  its  all  in  Him. 
Cling  to  the  Crucified  !" 


COMFOBTING  WOttDS. 


NO  NEUTRALITY  IN  RELIGION 

No  one  can  occupy  an  intermediate 
point  between  the  friends  and  the  ene- 
mies of  God.  Every  human  being,  in 
the  possession  of  a  sound  mind,  is  either 
a  saint  or  a  sinner,  either  penitent  or 
impenitent,  either  a  believer  or  an  un- 
believer. It  is  true  that  shades  of  char- 
acter are  so  blended  in  the  Church  and 
in  the  world,  that  it  is  difficult,  if  at  all 
possible,  to  determine  precisely  the  line 
of  distinction  between  them  j  but  it  is 
also  and  equally  true,  that  every  intelli- 
gent being  is  marked  by  conformity  to 
the  will  of  God,  or  the  want  of  it. 

This  is  necessarily  so  from  the  very 
constitution   of  our   nature.     Man  was 


4  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

not  made  to  be  neutral  in  regard  to  any- 
thing, nor  can  he  be.  He  was  made  to 
feel,  and  feel  he  must  and  does  in  relation 
to  every  object  that  attracts  his  atten- 
tion or  affects  his  interest.  His  heart, 
like  the  pendulum  in  its  oscillation,  is 
constantly  moving  from  attachment  to 
aversion,  from  hope  to  fear,  and  from 
approbation  to  condemnation,  or  in  the 
opposite  direction.  And  what  is  true 
of  him  in  regard  to  matters  of  limited 
and  transient  importance  is,  of  course, 
much  more  so  in  regard  to  religion. 
Here  the  interests  involved  are  tran- 
scendency great.  They  are  high  as 
heaven,  deep  as  hell.  Hence  it  is  ut- 
terly impossible  for  us  to  be  brought,  as 
we  all  are,  in  contact  with  this  system, 
without  taking  a  position  either  friendly 
or  hostile  to  it.  It  is  to  affect  us  so 
deeply,  so  much  and  so  long,  that  we  are 
forced  to  form  an  opinion  touching  it, 
either   favorable   or   adverse.     This   is 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  5 

what  Jesus  meant  in  saying,  "  He  tnat 
is  not  with  me  is  against  me."  So  long 
as  men  possess  any  moral  character, 
they  must  view  themselves,  and  be  re- 
garded by  others,  as  either  for  God  or 
against  him.  In  the  great  contest 
which  enlists  the  feelings  and  the  power 
of  three  worlds,  it  is  impossible  that 
there  should  be  a  neutral.  One  side  or 
the  other  will  claim,  and  does  claim, 
every  rational  being  in  heaven  and  on 
earth. 

IS  IT  POSSIBLE  TO  BE  A    CHRISTIAN 
WITHO  UT  KNO  WING  IT? 

It  is  beyond  question  that  there  are 
many  persons  who  exhibit  the  fruits  of 
personal  piety,  and  yet  are  not  satisfied 
that  they  are  the  children  of  God.  Such 
persons,  though  free  from  all  doubts  of 
the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  and 
thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  importance 


* 


6  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

of  an  interest  in  the  great  salvation, 
and  walking  unblamably  in  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord,  yet  are  unable 
to  decide,  to  their  own  satisfaction, 
whether  they  have  found  the  "  pearl  of 
great  price."  They  are  not  sure  that 
they  have  been  received  into  the  house- 
hold of  faith.  Sometimes  they  think 
they  belong  to  it ;  then,  again,  they 
think  or  fear  they  do  not.  They  are 
vexed  and  oppressed  with  doubts  on 
what,  to  them,  is  the  weightiest  'of  all 
problems.  From  the  depths  of  an  aching 
heart  they  are  constrained  to  say  : 

"  Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know, 

Oft  it  gives  me  anxious  thought, 
Do  I  love  the  Lord,  or  no, 
Am  I  his,  or  am  I  not  V 

They  are  afraid  that  they  are  only  in- 
formed, but  not  enlightened,  only  con- 
vinced, not  converted,  only  almost,  not 
altogether,  Christians.  Their  solicitude 
is  deepened  by  their  consciousness  of  the 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  7 

deceitf alness  of  their  hearts,  as  well  as 
by  the  revealed  possibility  that  pre- 
sumptions or  persuasions  may  be  cher- 
ished which  may  outlive  the  pang*  of 
dying,  and  knock  at  the  very  gate  of 
heaven,  only  that  their  deluded  victim 
may  be  repulsed  by  the  Master's  word, 
/  never  knew  you. 

Oh,  how  painful  is  such  uncertainty  ! 
How  many  dark  shadows  does  it  cast 
over  the  pathway  of  life  !  And  how 
vain  the  attempt  to  remove  it,  by  having 
recourse  to  such  unreasonable  and  unre- 
liable sources  of  evidence  as  accidental 
occurrences,  visions,  dreams,  and  sudden 
impulses ! 

Dear  reader,  assuming  that  you  be- 
long to  the  class  of  persons  just  described, 
I  undertake,  with  such  strength  as  God 
may  impart,  to  assist  you  in  settling  to 
your  comfort,  if  not  even  to  your  joy, 
the  question  which  gives  you  so  much 
concern.     I    propose    to    defend,    your 


8  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

faint,  wavering  hope  of  salvation  against 
the  doubts  and  fears  which  assail  it. 
And  in  order  that  your  mind  may  be 
prepared  to  appreciate  the  evidence  of 
Christian  character  which  shall  be  pre- 
sented, I  ask  you,  in  advance,  to  ponder 
carefully  and  prayerfully  certain  propo- 
sitions which  I  shall  state,  and  all  of 
which  bear  with  more  or  less  force  and 
directness  on  the  momentous  issues  to 
be  decided. 


THE   TIME,   PLACE,  AND    MODE  OF  RE 
GEXERA  TION  NEED  NOT  BE  KNO  WN 

A  man  may  be  a  Christian  without 
being  able  to  tell  when,  where,  or  how 
he  was  born  again.  On  these  points 
the  experience  of  the  true  disciples  of 
Jesus  is  very  different.  Some  can  tell 
the  time  of  their  conversion,  giving  day 
and  date,  the  hour,  the  providence,  the 
Dlace,  the  text,  the  preacher,  and  all  the 


FOB  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  9 

circumstances  connected  with  it.  They, 
can  show  the  word  that  penetrated  their 
soul,  and  in  some  truths  of  Scripture  the 
salve  that  healed  the  sore,  the  balm 
that  stanched  the  blood,  and  the  band- 
age that  Christ's  own  hand  wrapped  on 
the  bleeding  wound.  It  is  not  so,  how- 
ever, with  all,  or,  perhaps,  with  most 
Christians. 

Wo  turn  our  face  to  the  east  and  our 
back  to  the  setting  stars,  to  note  the 
very  moment  of  the.  birth  of  morning, 
yet  we  cannot  tell  when  and  where  the 
first   faint,   cold,    steel-gray   gleam   ap- 
pears.    Thus,  too,  if  our  eyes  are  fixed 
upon  the  earth,  both  night  and  day,  so 
silently  does  the  green  blade  come  forth 
from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  so  grad- 
ually does  it  show  itself,  that  we  could 
not  possibly  determine  the  exact  moment 
when  it  appeared.     Now,  as  it  is  with 
morning's  birth,  so  is  it  with  many  in 
relation  to  their  spiritual  dawn  ;  both 


10  WORDS  Ot   COMFORT 

are  marked  by  faint  and  feeble  streaks 
of  light,  yet  both  shine  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day.  And  as  the  green 
blade  springs  up  silently  and  gradually 
from  the  virgin  soil,  so,  with  noiseless 
steps,  divine  mercy  comes  to  the  sinner's 
heart  to  make  way  for  the  sinner's 
Friend,  and  gently,  oftentimes,  the  hand 
of  love  removes  our  chains,  and  softly 
does  the  dew  of  heaven  steal  into  the 
heart,  to  cause  the  seed  of  truth  to  ger- 
minate and  grow.  . 

Just,  therefore,  as  the  husbandman  re- 
fuses not  to  rejoice  as  he  beholds  the 
growing  corn,  because  he  cannot  tell  the 
time  when  it  pierced  the  sod  ;  and  as  the 
mariner  refuses  not  to  recognize  the 
grateful  light  which  shines  around  him, 
because  he  could  not  decide  just  when 
night  gave  place  to  day  ;  so  neither  need 
any  one  be  perplexed  because  he  cannot 
tell  the  precise  hour  when  the  Omnipo- 
tent finger  of  God's  grace  first  touched 


FOR  DOUB TING  HEAR TS.  \ \ 

his  heart— the  first  dew-drop  of  heav- 
en's mercy  distilled  upon  his  spirit. 
"  The  way  of  the  Spirit  of  God,"  says 
an  old  writer,  "  is  always  undiscernibie 
to  flesh  and  blood.  The  soul  receives  a 
thing,  and  the  man  knows  not  how  ;  he 
can  (scarce  possibly,  not  at  all)  tell 
where,  by  whom,  or  which  way  it  came 
to  him,  it  was  brought,  and  with  a  most 
blessed,  gracious  sleight-of-hand  convey- 
ed into  his  heart." 

NO  DECREE  OF  FAITH,  IF  IT  IS  TRUE 
AND  LIVING  FAITH,  IS  TOO  SMALL 
FOR  THE  P  URPOSE  OF  SALVA  TION 

Even  the  disciples  who  were  in  the 
vessel  with  Jesus,  during  the  storm  on 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  possessed  but  little 
faith.  The  ship-wrecked  sailor,  if  he 
has  been  cast  upon  a  rock  but  a  single 
foot  above  the  reach  of  the  waves,  is  as 
perfectly  secure  as  if  he  were  looking 


12  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

down  from  a  thousand  fathoms  upon  the 
troubled  waters.  So,  if  by  Divine  grace 
any  soul  has  really  found  a  resting-place 
upon  the  Rock  of  Ages,  God  will  not 
despise  the  day  of  small  things — the 
disciple  of  little  faith. 

There  is  a  difference  among  the  Lord's 
people.  There  are  not  only  sheep,  but 
lambs.  There  are  babes,  and  little 
children,  as  well  as  young  men,  and 
those  of  full  age,  who  have  their  senses 
exercised,  by  reason  of  use,  to  discern 
both  good  and  evil.  The  seed  of  the 
Gospel,  which  has  been  made  to  take 
root  in  the  heart,  brings  forth  unequally  ; 
in  some,  thirty,  in  some,  sixty,  and  in 
some,  an  hundred  fold.  This  difference 
should  be  well  marked  by  weak  believ- 
ers. Such  persons  are  constantly 
tempted  to  an  undervaluation  of  what 
God  has  clone  for  them.  Comparing 
themselves  with  others  who  are  more 
advanced  in  the  Divine  life,  they  natu- 


FOR  DOUBTING  77 R ARTS.  13 

rally  have  a  strong  inclination  to  shrink 
into  nothing,  and  imagine  that  they  have 
no  part  or  lot  in  the  matter.  But  why 
should  such  inclination  be  indulged  ? 
When  wc  look  into  the  Bible,  do  we  not 
learn  that  the  work  of  grace  in  the  soul 
is  generally  small,  resembling  the  field 
where  the  blade  precedes  the  ear, — that 
the  Christian  is  a  soldier,  who  at  first  is 
a  raw  and  awkward  recruit,  neither 
marching  well,  nor  easily  and  gracefully 
using  his  arms, — that  he  is  a  scholar, 
who,  on  entering  the  school,  begins  with 
his  rudiments,  and,  though  he  has  many 
things  to  learn,  "  cannot  bear  them 
now  " — and  that  the  man  whose  faith  is 
but  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  is  inter- 
ested in  all  the  promises  of  the  Gospel, 
a  child  of  God,  and  a  joint-heir  with 
Christ  of  the  heavenly  inheritance? 
With  such  a  representation,  therefore, 
no  man  should  despise  his  own  measure 
of  piety,  inconsiderable  though  it  may 


14  WO  R  DS  OF  COM  FOR  7 

be  in  comparison  with  that  of  others. 
Rather  should  he  be  thankful  if  he  has 
only  light  enough  to  see  his  darkness, 
and  feeling  enough  to  be  sensible  of  his 
obduracy. 

"  Cold  as  I  feel  this  heart  of  mine, 
Yet,  since  I  feel  it  so, 
It  yields  some  hope  of  life  divine 
Within,  however  low." 

It  is  his  duty  to  cherish  the  degree  of 
grace  which  he  has  received,  and  to  seek 
to  have  it  increased  by  more  fervent 
prayer,  more  frequent  and  intimate  com- 
munion with  Jesus,  and,  above  all,  by 
conscientiously  and  consistently  acting 
according  to  that  portion  of  light  which 
God  has  given  him.  The  truth  is,  that 
no  surer  method  could  be  adopted  by 
any  one  to  destroy  within  him  every 
evidence  of  piety,  than  making  little 
account  of  the  measure  of  grace  that  has 
been  given  to  him, — no  surer  method, 
either  of  shutting  the  ear  and  hand  of 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTH.  15 

God  against  him,  than  placing  a  low 
estimate  upon  the  blessings  he  has  re- 
ceived, and  murmuring  because  he  has 
not  received  more.  "  To  him  that  hath 
shall  be  given." 

THE  INFL  UENCE  OF  PHYSICAL  CA  USES 
MUST  BE  CONSIDERED  IN  JUDGING-  OF 
CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER. 

We  are  ;'  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made."  The  mind  and  the  body  are 
very  nearly  related,  and  are  subject  to 
constant  and  powerful  interaction.  It  is 
almost  impossible  for  one  to  be  to  any 
considerable  degree  affected,  without  the 
other  being  brought  into  sympathy  with 
it.  It  is  unnecessary  to  adduce  proof  of 
this  proposition,  as  every  one  knows  it 
to  be  true  from  his  own  consciousness 
and  observation.  When  the  friends  of 
Cowper  requested  him  to  prepare  some 
hymns  for  the  Olney  Collection,  he  re- 


1 6  WORDS  OF  OOMFO B  T 

plied,  "  How  can  you  ask  of  me  such  a 
service  ?  I  seem  to  myself  to  be  ban- 
ished to  a  remoteness  from  God's  pres- 
ence, in  comparison  with  which  the  dis- 
tance from  East  to  West,  is  vicinity;  is 
cohesion.'7  There  were  other  periods  in 
the  history  of  this  good  man,  to  whom 
the  Church  is  indebted  for  that  sweet 
hymn,  "  Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God," 
and  many  others  as  richly  fraught  with 
spirituality,  when  he  seemed  to  be  aban- 
doned to  the  darkest  gloom,  if  not  to 
actual  despair,  in  respect  to  his  religious 
state.  That  this  sad  experience  was 
mainly,  if  not  solely,  ascribable  to  the 
variableness  of  his  health,  no  one,  per- 
haps, has  ever  doubted,  who  has  made 
himself  acquainted  with  his  profound 
devotional  tastes  and  habits,  his  exem- 
plary life,  and  his  delicate  and  peculiar 
physical  organization. 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  17 

MODIFYING  POWER  OF  TEMPERA- 
MENT. 

It  is  undeniable  that  temperament  con- 
siderably modifies  piety.  As  water  is 
dependent,  in  some  degree,  for  its  color 
and  taste,  on  the  nature  of  the  soil  over 
which  it  flows,  so  personal  religion  takes 
its  complexion  somewhat  from  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  individual  in  whose  heart 
it  has  found  a  place.  "There  is  one 
Spirit,  but  a  diversity  of  operations." 
Grace,  though  it  corrects,  does  not  erad- 
icate nature. 

It  is  true  that  "if  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature/'  but  he  is 
not  a  new  creature  in  such  a  sense  that 
he  has  lost  his  personal  identity.  Chris- 
tianity does  not  aim  to  re-construct  its 
subjects,  but  only  to  sanctify  them. 
Neither  does  it  seek  to  bring  them  into 
complete  resemblance  to  one  another. 
Whilst  it  does  produce  a  community  of 


18  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

saints,  one  faith,  one  love,  one  hope,  the 
same  humility  and  self-denial  in  all  the 
members  of  the  Church,  it  does  not  pro- 
pose to  produce  identity  of  thought, 
temper  of  mind  and  inclination.  The 
man,  therefore,  who  has  experienced  its 
renovating  power,  is  neither  physically, 
nor  intellectually,  nor  socially  changed. 
The  same  tiling  is  true  of  his  natural 
temperament,  whether  it  was  before  his 
regeneration  phlegmatic,  sanguine,  chol- 
eric, or  melancholic,  it  continues  the 
same.  The  only  difference  in  his  case 
after  the  new  birth,  is,  that  a  new  and 
powerful  principle  has  been  introduced 
into  his  soul,  which  gives  a  new  control 
and  direction  to  his  nature,  making  him 
to  live  under  the  mastery  of  new  mo- 
tives, and  for  new  ends.  In  other 
words,  regeneration  is  not  destroying 
the  metal,  but  the  old  stamp  upon  it,  to 
imprint  a  new  one.  It  is  not  breaking 
the  candlestick,  but  putting  a  new  light 


FOR  DOVBTINQ  HEARTS.  19 

in  it.  It  is  a  new  stringing  of  the  in- 
strument, to  make  new  harmony.  For 
example,  "  Divine  grace  did  not  give 
John  his  warm  affections,  but  it  fixed 
them  on  his  beloved  Master — sanctifying 
his  love.  It  did  not  inspire  Nehemiah 
with  the  love  of  country,  but  it  made  him 
a  holy  patriot.  It  did  not  give  Dorcas 
a  woman's  heart,  her  tender  sympathy 
with  suffering,  but  it  associated  charity 
with  piety,  and  made  her  a  holy  philan- 
thropist. It  did  not  give  Paul  his  vehe- 
mence and  energy  of  character,  his 
genius,  his  resistless  logic,  and  noble 
oratory,  but  it  consecrated  them  to  the 
cause  of  Christ;  touching  his  lips  with 

a  live  coal  from  the  altar,  it  made  him 
such  a  master  of  holy  eloquence  that  he 
swayed  the  multitude  at  his  will,  hum- 
bled the  pride  of  kings,  and  compelled 
his  very  judges  to  tremble.  It  did  not 
give  David  a  poet's  fire  and  a  poet's 
lyre,  but  it  strung  his  harp  with  chords 


20  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

from  heaven,  and  tuned  all  its  strings  to 
the  service  of  religion  and  the  high 
praises  of  God." 

Referring  now  more  particularly  to 
difference  of  temperament,  we  point  to 
the  Sisters  of  Bethany  for  an  illustra- 
tion. Martha,  as  the  narrative  shows, 
was  active,  energetic,  decided,  but  Mary 
was  quiet,  pensive  and  meditative.  These 
traits  of  character  were  brought  out 
during  the  visit  of  Jesus,  when  the  one 
was  reproved  for  being  "  careful  and 
troubled  about  many  things,"  and  the 
other  was  commended  for  having  "chosen 
the  good  part."  "  Here  were  two  per- 
sons, born  of  the  same  parents,  reared 
under  the  same  educational  influences, 
and  yet  widely  variant  in  their  disposi- 
tions. That  both  were  Christians,  not- 
withstanding the  rebuke  which  one  re- 
ceived on  account  of  the  triumph  of  do- 
mestic vanity  at  the  time,  admits  not  of 
a  doubt,  yet  their  piety  did  not  produce 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  21 

an  entire  assimilation  of  their  tastes  and 
habits.  It  shows  itself  by  different 
manifestations.  The  one  was  of  a  free, 
bustling  spirit,  inclined  to  interest  her 
self  in  household  affairs,  and  make  her 
presence  felt  in  the  sphere  she  occupied ; 
the  other  was  disposed  to  seclusion  and 
reflection,  yet  Divine  grace  was  lodged 
in  the  heart  of  each,  and  was  preparing 
both  for  heaven. 

Just  at  this  point  it  may  be  proper  to 
say,  that  the  temperament  of  any  one 
has  much  to  do  with  the  form  of  his  ex- 
perience at  his  very  introduction  to  the 
life  of  faith.  The  Holy  Spirit,  the  au- 
thor of  regeneration,  moves  on  the  soul, 
not  in  any  way  set  down  and  arranged, 
so  that  man  can  follow  and  trace  this 
out,  but  absolutely  independent  of  all 
such  set  and  appointed  ways.  He  moveth 
as  He  "  listeth,"  or  as  it  may  please 
Him.  He  is  not  tied  to  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel,  nor  to  the  reading  of  the 


22  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

Bible,  nor  to  the  strange  and  wondrous 
providences  which  befall  man,  nor  to 
ordinances,  not  even  to  Baptism  or  to 
that  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Neither 
does  He  confine  himself  to  any  particu- 
lar type  or  formula  of  operation  in 
bringing  sinners  into  a  saving  relation 
to  God.  When  Jesus  approached 
Matthew  as  he  sat  at  the  receipt  of  cus- 
tom, and  addressed  to  him  these  few. 
and  simple  words,  "  Follow  me,"  with- 
out the  hesitation  of  a  moment,  without 
the  reply  of  a  word,  the  publican  arose, 
and  leaving  all  in  which  he  had  been 
a  moment  before  immersed,  instantly 
obeyed  the  summons,  and  from  that  hour, 
through  good  and  ill,  through  toil  and 
labor,  through  persecution  and  priva- 
tion, through  contempt,  reproach  and  in- 
famy, he  followed  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  Wonderful  illustration  of  the 
truth  of  this  declaration  of  our  Lord, 
"  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  23 

them,  and  they  follow  me."  When  Lydia 
sat  by  the  river's  side,  among  the  hear- 
ers of  Paul,  as  he  proclaimed  the  Gos- 
pel, the  Lord  opened  her  heart  to  receive 
the  things  that  were  spoken,  as  gently 
as  a  rose-bud  is  unfolded  by  the  rays  of 
the  morning  sun.  The  Philippian  jailor 
came  to  the  incarcerated  Apostles, 
trembling,  falling  down  before  them,  and 
with  most  earnest  emphasis  asking, 
';  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" — 
thus  indicating  that  his  soul  was  ex- 
periencing a  convulsion  corresponding 
with  the  earthquake  that  shook  the 
prison  to  its  foundations — yet  this  was 
God's  plan  of  bringing  him  to  believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  peace 
might  dawn  upon  his  agitated  spirit,  and 
an  interest  in  the  everlasting  covenant 
of  mercy  be  secured. 

Thus  is  it  true  that  there  is  no  uniform 
method  by  which  God  brings  sinners  to 
Himself.     Some   are  instantly  brought 


24  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

into   a  gracious  state,  others  are  kept 
long  seeking  for  the  desired  renovation. 
Some  are  deeply  exercised  with  sorrow, 
and  then  with  joy,  others  have  compara- 
tively little  emotion.   "  Sometimes,"  says 
Caryl,   "  truth   enters   in   state,  and   it 
may  be  said  to  make  its  passage  visibly 
into  the  heart  of  the  man.     The  word 
comes  not  as  a  company  of  thieves,  but 
as   a  band   of  soldiers,  with  weapons 
drawn,  and  terrible  shouts,  tearing  open 
the  soul  and  breaking  open  the  iron  gate 
of  the  heart,  locked  and  barred  by  un- 
belief, to  secure  that  cursed  crew  of  lusts 
garrisoned  within  it.     The  weapons  of 
our  warfare  (saith  the  apostle)  are  mighty 
through  God  ;  the  Word  is  mighty,  won- 
derful in  strength  ;  it  comes  upon  the 
soul  as  an  armed    man,  to  spoil  it  of 
all  sinful  treasures  ;  yea,  of  the  very  life 
of  sin.     Sometimes  the  Lord  proclaimed 
war,  as  by  an  herald  of  arms,  against  a 
man,  and  openly  prepared  for  his  siege 


FOB  DOUBTING  HEABTS.  25 

and  battery.  He  surprises  another,  and 
steals  him  into  a  happy  captivity  to  Rim- 
self." 

It  is,  therefore,  unwarranted  and  un- 
wise, for  any  one  to  decide  that  he  has 
not  passed  from  death  to  life,  merely  be- 
cause he  has  not  had  the  same  degree  of 
conviction  of  sin  and  of  spiritual  strug- 
gle which  others  have  had  in  making 
this  great  transition.  Equally  so  is  it 
for  any  one  to  conclude  that  he  has  no 
piety,  because  his  character  in  its  devel- 
opments is  not  precisely  identical  with 
that  of  others  whom  he  regards  as  Chris- 
tians. What  inference  must  the  loving 
and  retiring  John  have  drawn  concern- 
ing his  interest  in  the  scheme  of  salva- 
tion, if  he  had  judged  himself  by  com- 
parison with  the  fiery  and  forward  Peter  ? 
Or  how  could  the  bold  Luther  have  re- 
tained his  hope  of  heaven,  if  he  could 
not  believe  any  one  to  be  a  Christian, 
unless  he  was  like  the  gentle  Melanc- 


26  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

thon  ?  Each  individual  should  remem- 
ber his  own  peculiarities  of  tempera- 
ment and  disposition,  in  judging  of  his  ' 
religion.  One  of  the  not  least  import- 
ant of  the  peculiarities  of  many  persons, 
is  a  tendency  to  take  gloomy  views  of 
themselves.  They  look  with  a  doubting 
or  distrustful  eye  on  everything  that  per- 
tains to  them,  and  this  feeling  pervades 
the  sphere  of  their  spiritual  interests. 
Nothing  of  a  worldly  kind  which  they 
have  is  deemed  as  good  as  what  their 
neighbors  have,  and  soon,  and  for  the 
same  reason,  their  piety  is  regarded  not 
only  as  inferior,  but  also  as  unreal.  They 
write  bitter  things  against  themselves. 
They  go  through  life,  seeing  only  the 
dark  side  of  the  pillar-cloud,  which  leads 
God's  people  through  this  wilderness  to 
the  promised  inheritance.  And  with 
such  a  tendency,  how  strong,  how  fear- 
ful the  probability  that  they  may  dis- 
honor   God    by  questioning   the   good 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  27 

work  which  He  may  have  begun  within 
them ! 

The   fact   is,  no  general  law  can   be 
laid  down  for  the  operation  of   God's 
Spirit  upon  the  feelings.     It  is,  to  carry 
out  the  Saviour's  own  figure,  like  the 
action  of  the  wind  upon  different  trees 
and   shrubs.      The   same  breeze  blows 
upon   the    poplar,   and   it   shivers   and 
trembles  and  turns  its  silvery  leaves  to 
the  light,  looking  as  if  some  magic  had 
blanched  its  verdure.      It  blows   upon 
the  elm,  and  it   slowly  and  gracefully 
swings   its   heavy   tassels.      Upon   the 
pine,  and  it  sways  majestically  and  sings 
mournfully.      Upon    the    rose,  and    it 
shakes   and   showers   its  tinted   leaves 
upon  the  ground.      The  action  of  the 
same  wind  is  modified  by  the  structure 
of  each  different  tree  or  plant.     So  con- 
viction of  sin  will  affect  differently  each 
one  of  a  dozen  of  men.     Two  men  lose 
each  a  child.     The  funerals  are  on  the 
same  day.      We  go  into  the  house  of 


28  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

one,  and  find  him  standing  over  the 
little  coffin,  trembling  in  every  limb,  his 
sobs  coming  thick  and  fast,  and  calling 
his  child's  name  in  tones  of  the  bitterest 
anguish.  We  repair  to  the  other's 
house.  He  sits  calmly  by  his  dead,  not 
a  tear  in  his  eye.  He  speaks  to  us  in 
his  accustomed  tone  about  his  child. 
He  asks  if  our  own  little  ones  are  well. 
Now,  will  we  go  and  tell  our  friends 
that  the  latter  is  a  man  of  no  feeling, 
and  that  he  does  not  seem  at  all  affected 
by  his  loss  ?  Do  we  not,  on  the  con- 
trary, ascribe  to  him  a  grief  as  sincere 
as  his  neighbor's?  Do  we  not  know 
that  the  quiet,  self-contained  man  is 
often  the  keener  sufferer  of  the  two  ? 

So,  dear  reader,  you  are  not  to  doubt 
the  reality  of  your  repentance  because 
it  is  not  precisely  similar  to  that  of  your 
friend  or  neighbor.  He  may  have  been 
harassed,  horrified,  overwhelmed  by  the 
view  of  his  sinful  state.  He  may  fill 
the  nights  with  weeping  and  forget  to 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  29 

eat  his  bread.  You,  on  the  contrary, 
may  just  as  clearly  have  discerned  your 
relations  to  God,  hated  sin  as  intensely, 
and  longed  as  earnestly  to  escape  from 
it,  yet  with  you  it  may  have  been  rather 
a  matter  of  judgment  than  of  feeling. 
The  same  conviction  manifests  itself  in 
both,  through  your  natural  differences 
of  temperament  and  character,  as  the 
same  light  shines  through  different 
colored  panes.  It  would  be  well  for  you 
to  remember  that  if  your  sense  of  sin- 
fulness produced  in  you  a  degree  of 
emotion  bordering  on  frenzy,  and  did 
not  bring  you  to  Jesus,  it  would  be  spu- 
rious repentance;  and,  on  the  contrary, 
if  your  feelings  were  calm  as  a  summer 
sea,  and  yet  brought  you  to  the  Cross 
with  confession  and  submission,  nothing 
more  would  be  necessary.  Jesus  asks 
nothing  more. 

**  All  the  fitness  He  requireth 
Is  to  feel  your  need  of  Him." 


30  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

ASSURANCE    IS  NOT  ESSENTIAL    TO 
SALVATION. 

There  are  two  kinds  or  forms  of  as- 
surance. The  one  is  called  the  assur- 
ance of  faith,  the  other,  the  assurance  of 
hope,  and,  sometimes,  the  full  assurance 
of  hope.  (rleb.  vi.  2.)  As  faith  unfolds 
into  hope,  so  the  assurance  or  highest 
measure  of  faith  into  the  assurance  or 
highest  measure  of  hope.  They  there- 
fore often  co-exist. 

"  The  Assurance  of  Faith/5  says  an. 
eminent  divine,  "  is  the  acme  of  unwaver- 
ing and  undoubting  confidence  that  the 
propositions  of  revealed  truth  are  the 
very  truth  of  God, — a  persuasion  so 
firm,  as  to  be  the  basis  and  resting-place 
of  all  Christian  reliance.  It  is  saving 
faith  carried  to  its  height.  It  sees 
Christ,  and  believes  in  him.  The  Assur- 
ance of  Hope  is  a  settled,  unshaken, 
well-grounded,    immovable    persuasion, 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  31 

and  certainty,  that '  I,  as  an  individual, 
have  thus  believed,  that  I  am  in  Christ, 
that  God  is  my  reconciled  Father,  that 
I  shall  never  come  into  condemnation, 
and  that  my  heaven  is  secure.  The 
former  is  an  universal  duty,  the  latter  is 
a  gracious  privilege.  One  is  possessed 
by  every  believer,  the  other  is  a  sovereign 
gift  to  a  part  of  the  flock.  By  one,  I 
believe  that  God  is  true,  by  the  other, 
that  he  is  my  God.  By  the  one,  I  see 
Christ  to  be  an  Almighty  and  a  willing 
Saviour,  by  the  other  I  am  assured  that 
He  will  save  me  in  particular.  By  one. 
I  lean  on  Christ  as  my  only  and  all-suffi- 
cient supporter;- by  the  other,  I  am  made 
certain  that  I  have  actually  done  so,  and 
hope  without  wavering  that  I  shall 
eternally  rejoice  in  him.  One  is  opposed 
to  unbelief;  the  other,  to  despondency. 
One  connects  with  Christ,  the  other  re- 
veals the  connection.  They  stand  to 
one  another  as  the  blossom  to  the  iruit, 


32  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

or  as  the  deed  to  the  possession,  or  as 
the  sentence  of  acquittal  to  enlargement 
from  restraint.  One  may  co-exist  with 
many  fears,  the  other  casteth  out  all 
fear.  '  The  work  of  righteousness  shall 
be  peace,  and  the  effect  of  righteousness, 
quietness  and  assurance  forever.7 

"Is  assurance  of  personal  salvation 
essential  to  saving  faith?  Some  have 
maintained  the  affirmative  and  have 
taught  that  no  man  can  be  a  regenerate 
person  without  knowing  himself  to  be 
such.  But  the  negative  is  clearly  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture.  Bearing  in  mind 
the  distinction  already  suggested,  be- 
tween the  Assurance  of  Faith  and  the 
Assurance  of  Hope,  it  will  readily  be 
perceived  that  one  may  have  a  justifying 
faith  without  any  necessary  reference  to 
the  question,  whether  he  is  himself  re- 
generate or  not.  And,  inasmuch  as  any, 
the  least  degree  of  faith,  is  justifying,  as 
unit.intr   the    son!   to    Christ,  it   will  as 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  33 

readily  be  perceived  that  faith  may  ap- 
prehend Christ  when  as  yet  it  falls  far 
short  of  that  which  produces  assured 
hope." 

That  assurance  is  eminently  desirable, 
requires  no  proof.  It  is  impossible,  in- 
deed, to  value  too  highly  the  privilege 
of  a  conscious  interest  in  the  favor  of 
God,  and  no  one  who  is  not  indifferent 
to  the  highest  happiness  that  can  be  en- 
joyed on  earth,  will  fail  to  seek  after 
this  privilege.  Still,  it  is  true,  that  it  is 
not  by  assurance,  but  by  faith,  that  we 
are  saved.  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be 
saved."  Assurance  is  a  fruit  of  faith, 
and  as  such  it  frequently  does  not  grow 
until  the  principle  from  which  it  springs 
has  been  long  and  largely  exercised. 
We  are  aware  that  some  maintain  that 
it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  believe 
without  knowing  that  he  does  so,  but 
this  is  not  true.  Faith  does  not  neces- 
sarily carry  with  it  self-evidencing  power, 


34  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

else  why  would  the  Apostle  have  said 
to  the  Corinthians,  "  examine  yourselves 
whether  ye  be  in  the  faith,"  and,  "  prove 
your  own  selves  ?"  These  injunctions 
certainly  at  least  imply,  that  faith  does 
not  of  itself  prove  its  existence,  and 
that  it  may,  as  a  principle,  be  lodged  in 
the  heart  when  there  is  not  a  full  realiz- 
ation of  its  presence. 

And  who  has  not  met  with  exemplifi- 
cations of  this  truth  ?  Again  and  again 
are  those  to  be  found  whose  lives  furnish 
a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  obedience 
of  the  Gospel,  and  yet  they  do  not,  nor 
can  they,  be  persuaded  to  regard  them- 
selves as  Christians.  How  is  this  ?  Here 
are  the  external  evidences,  and  shall  we 
doubt  whether  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  sound 
whereof  we  hear  in  these  outward  mani- 
festations of  fidelity,  has  implanted  the 
vital  power  of  godliness  underneath  or 
back  of  them?  Can  grapes  grow  on 
thorns,   or  figs  on   thistles?     The  only 


FOR  DOUBTING-  HEARTS.  35 

conclusion  it  seems  to  us  possible  to 
reach  in  these  cases,  is,  that  such  persons 
•  really  belong  to  the  people  of  God,  and 
that  this  relation  is  not  at  all  invalidated 
by  their  want  of  assurance,  inasmuch  as 
such  want  arises  from  their  deep  humil- 
ity, their  fear  of  thinking  too  favorably 
of  themselves,  and  the  very  high  concep- 
tion they  have  of  what  is  involved  in 
being  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  The  last  two  of 
these  reasons,  it  is  to  be  believed,  oper- 
ate frequently  and  potently  to  prevent 
the  enjoyment  of  Christian  hope.  Anx- 
iety about  any  interest  results  from  an 
appreciation  of  its  importance.  Instead 
of  being  true  that  it  is  easy  to  believe 
what  we  wish,  in  proportion  as  we  love 
and  value  a  thing  we  become  the  more 
apprehensive,  and  require  every  kind  of 
proof  and  assurance  concerning  its 
safety.  This  apprehensiveness,  with 
many  who  sit  in  judgment  on  their  claims 


36  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

to  everlasting  life,  shadows  the  faith 
that  otherwise  might  be  clear  and 
strong.  The  great  and  good  Chalmers* 
said  that  he  could  without  difficult}7  have 
persuaded  himself  of  having  a  title  to 
heaven,  if  the  inheritance  was  not  so 
vast, — utterly  exceeding  all  his  capacity 
to  comprehend  it,  and  he  also  recorded 
in  his  diary,  that  the  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture which  most  aptly  represented  his 
habitual  religious  experience  was  this  : — 
"  My  heart  breaketh  for  the  longing  it 
continually  hath  unto  thy  judgments. " 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of 
some  tests,  which  may,  under  God's 
blessing,  serve  to  show  you,  clear  reader, 
whether  you  have  only  a  name  to  live, 
and  are  dead,  or  are  a  genuine  disciple 
of  Jesus,  sprinkled  with  his  blood,  born 
again  by  his  Spirit,  and  moving  on, 
though  it  be  by  a  way  which  you  know 
not,  to  the  city  whose  walls  shall  never 
crumble,  whose  melodies  shall  never  be 


fur  doubt  is  g  hearts.  37 

hushed,  and  whose  lustres'  shall  never 
grow  dim. 

AN  ENCOURAGING  SIGN. 

Is  it  not  true,  as  at  the  beginning  we 
have  assumed,  that  you  are  earnestly 
desirous  of  knowing  whether  you  are  a 
Christian,  and  of  becoming  one,  if  you 
are  not  ?  If  so,  this  very  state  of  mind 
furnishes  a  strong  argument  in  your 
favor.  Anxiety  on  this  subject  is  not 
likely  to  exist  in  a  heart  with  which 
grace  has  had  nothing  to  do.  The  time 
was  when  you  had  but  little  concern  in 
regard  to  your  spiritual  condition  and 
prospects.  Such  is  not  your  feeling 
now,  and  this  is  a  very  encouraging  in- 
dication. It  at  least  shows  that  in  your 
case  the  apathy  of  the  carnal  mind  has 
been  broken  up,  and  profound  interest 
has  taken  the  place  of  cold  indifference 
toward  the  things  invisible  and  ever- 
lasting. 


3-8  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

Bis  nop  Hall  remarked  two  centuries 
and  a  half  ago,  "  If  God  had  not  said, 
'  Blessed  are  those  that  hunger/  I  know 
not  what  could  keep  weak  Christians 
from  sinking  in  despair.  Many  times, 
all  I  can  do  is,  to  complain  that  I  want 
Him  and  wish  to  recover  Him."  Does  not 
this  language  express  your  experience  ? 
Are  you  not  prepared  to  say  as  did  Job, — 
'Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him?" 
Do  you  not  desire,  above  everything  else, 
to  stand  in  the  favor,  friendship  and  fel- 
lowship of  God  ?  Is  not  this  desire  so  in- 
tense as  to  be  aptly  represented  by  the 
sensations  of  hunger  and  thirst  ?  Do  you 
not  mourn  over  your  lack  of  conscious- 
ness that  God  is  your  portion,  and  that 
you  are  so  very  little  like  Him  in  heart 
and  life  ?  Then  take  the  comfort  which 
the  Saviour's  words  are  adapted,  and 
were  designed,  to  convey, — "  Blessed  are 
they  that  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled.77 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  39 

When  the  Esquimaux,  in  this  country, 
first  obtained  the  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew,  in  their  own  language,  we 
are  told,  they  perused  the  sacred  treas- 
ure with  the  greatest  attention.  One 
day  the  Missionary  found  a  poor  lad 
weeping  bitterly.  He  inquired  the  cause 
of  his  grief.  The  youth  replied  by 
pointing  to  this  verse  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount, — "  Blessed  are  the  pure 
in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God"— 
and  then  adding,  "  I  am  not  pure,  so  I 
can  never  see  him."  "  But  stop,"  said 
the  missionary,  (placing  his  finger  on  the 
fourth  verse,)  "  read  again, '  Blessed  are 
they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  com- 
forted.' " 

VIEWS  OF  SIN 

Sin  is  the  abominable  thing  which 
God  hates.  It  is  antagonistic  to  his 
character,  law,  government,  plans,  and 
it  crucified  his  only-begotten  and  well- 


40  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

beloved  Son.  Standing  before  God  in 
the  relation  of  sinners,  as  all  men  do  by 
nature  and  practice,  there  is  a  constant 
and  fearful  exposure  on  the  part  of  every 
one  to  His  wrath,  as  the  threatened  pen- 
alty for  the  ';  transgression  of  the  law." 
Ordinarily,  the  sense  of  guilt  which  is 
connected  with  this  relation  is  vague 
and  feeble.  But  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
convinces  a  man  of  his  condemned  and 
depraved  condition,  he  sees,  as  he  never 
saw  before,  that  sin  is  an  evil  and  a  bit- 
ter thing.  Is  not  this  your  experience  ? 
Can  you  not  say,  as  did  Paul,  "I  was 
alive  without  the  law,  but  when  the 
commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I 
died?"  Have  you  not,  in  the  discovery 
which  Divine  illumination  has  given  you 
of  the  deccitfulncss  and  desperate  wick- 
edness of  your  heart,  and  of  the  purity 
and  righteousness  of  God's  law,  been  led 
to  godly  sorrow  for  your  past  ingrati- 
tude,  rebellion  and   unbelief,  especially 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  41 

under  the  light,  goodness  and  mercy 
which  should  have  constrained  you  to 
cherish  a  different  spirit  and  pursue  an 
opposite  course?  And  have  you  not 
under  a  conviction  of  your  ruined, 
wretched  and  helpless  estate,  looked  with 
the  eye  of  faith  to  Him  who  "  is  the  end 
of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth  ?" 

What,  then,  is  there  to  prevent  you 
having  a  good  hope  through  grace  ?  Do 
you  answer,  "  I  am  conscious  of  so  much 
sin  yet  dwelling  in  me  that  I  cannot 
persuade  myself  I  am  a  child  of  God?" 
To  this  I  reply  that  a  growing  sense  of 
inward  corruption,  instead  of  being  evi- 
dence that  you  are  not  in  a  gracious 
state,  is  rather  evidence  that  you  are. 
Suppose  a  man  in  a  dungeon  abounding 
with  noxious  reptiles.  While  all  is  dark 
there,  he  sees  none  of  them.  The  light 
seems  to  bring  them  and  to  multiply 
them,  but  it  really  only  discovers  what 
4* 


42  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

was  there  before.  There  are  remains  oi 
evil  in  all  the  subjects  of  Divine  grace. 
None  of  them  are  free.  "  In  many 
things/'  says  James,  "  we  offend  all." 
"  My  tears/'  said  Bishop  Beveridge,  "  re- 
quire to  be  washed  in  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  my  repentance  needs  to  be 
repented  of." 

Those  who  could  die  for  the  Saviour 
have  used  the  most  humbling;  lans'uas'e 
with  regard  to  themselves.  "  Some- 
times," said  the  pious  Bradford,  "  0, 
my  God,  there  seems  to  be  no  difference 
between  me  and  the  wicked,  my  under- 
standing seems  as  dark  as  theirs,  and  my 
heart  as  hard  as  theirs."  "  Iniquities 
prevail  against  me,"  was  the  complaint 
of  David.  He  did  not  say,  iniquities  pre- 
vail with  me,  but  against  me.  As  to 
many,  they  prevail  with  them.  They 
drink  in  iniquity  as  the  ox  drinketh  in 
water.  They  draw  iniquity  with  cords 
of  vani'y.      But   a    Christian  is    made 


FOR  DOUBTING  HE  All  is.  43 

willing  in  the  day  of  God's  power,  and 
therefore  can  say,  "  To  will  is  present 
with  me,  but  how  to  perform  that  which 
is  good,  I  find  not.  When  I  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  me."  What 
a  difference  is  there  between  Ahab,  who 
is  said  to  have  sold  himself  to  work 
wickedness,  and  the  poor  slave  in  Africa, 
who,  kidnapped,  and  disposed  of  to  de- 
mon-traffickers in  flesh  and  blood,  though 
he  resists  and  weeps,  still  finds  those 
traffickers  prevail  against  him  ?  So, 
says  Paul,  I  do  not  sell  myself,  but  "  I 
am  sold  under  sin."  So,  then,  "  it  is  no 
more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth 
in  me.  0  wretched  man  that  I  am ! 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
this  death?"  What  a  representation  is 
this  of  the  sin  that  dwelleth  even  in 
God's  dear  people !  It  is.  says  one,  as  is 
commonly  supposed,  a  reference  to  a 
cruel  usage  sometimes  practised  by  the 
tyrants    of    antiquity,    and  which    con- 


44  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

sisted  in  fastening  a  dead  carcass  to  a 
living  man.  Body  was  bound  to  body — ■ 
hands  to  hands,  face  to  face,  lips  to  lips. 
The  living  man  conld  not  separate  him- 
self from  his  hated  companion;  it  lay 
down  and  rose  up,  and  walked  with  him. 
He  could  not  breathe  without  inhaling 
a  kind  of  pestilence.  Yet  this  represen- 
tation, strong  as  it  is,  is  not  too  strong 
to  be  true.  Sin  still  cleaves  to  Chris- 
tians till  they  are  translated  to  glory. 
It  is  with  them,  when  alone,  and  when 
in  company,  in  the  work  of  the  field,  the 
office,  or  the  shop,  and  in  the  worship  of 
the  closet  or  the  sanctuary.  It  is  at  once 
their  burden  and  their  grief.  They  have 
a  new  nature,  and  as  far  as  they  arc 
sanctified,  there  is  as  perfect  a  contra- 
riety between  them  and  sin,  as  between 
darkness  and  light.  Hence  there  is  a 
contest  within  them,  the  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against 
the  flesh,  these  being  contrary  the  one 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  45 

to  the  other.  This  very  contest,  how- 
ever, is  proof  that  the  element  of  grace, 
tilling  them  with  abhorrence  of  sin,  has 
been  lodged  in  their  hearts. 

It  is,  therefore,  no  evidence  that  a 
man  is  not  a  Christian  that  inquities 
prevail  against  him.  An  enemy  may 
make  a  temporary  irruption  into  a  coun- 
try and  do  injury,  but  if  he  is  soon  ex- 
pelled again,  there  is  evidence  that  the 
power  invaded  has  superior  force.  So 
if  evil  passions  rise  up  in  the  heart,  and 
are  resisted  and  suppressed,  there  is 
proof  that  grace  reigns.  David,  when 
uttering  the  complaint  we  have  referred 
to  a  little  before,  could  yet  say  in  tri- 
umph,— "  As  for  our  transgressions,  thou 
shalt  purge  them  away."  Paul,  when 
mourning,  as  we  have  seen,  over  his  in- 
dwelling corruption,  could  yet  say,  "I 
thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."  So  may  the  weakest  believer, 
if  he  will,  under  the  deepest  ^ense  of  his 


46  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

ill-desert,  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  he  has  now  re- 
ceived the  atonement,  and,  with  confi 
dence  and  triumph,  sing — 

"  Thy  Spirit  holds  perpetual  war 
And  wrestles  and  complains, 
But  views  the  happy  moment  near 
That  shall  dissolve  the  chains." 

THE  PLAN  OF  SALVATION. 

In  order  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  it  is 
necessary  that  we  be  justified.  What 
is  justification  ?  It  is  often  confounded 
with  sanctification,  but  should  not  be.  It 
is  not  the  making  us  righteous  in  person, 
but  in  state.  It  stands  opposed  to  con- 
demnation. It  is  the  absolving  a  man 
from  a  charge,  the  acquitting  him,  when 
accused,  and  pronouncing  him  righteous. 
"  Justification  regards  something  done 
for  us;  sanctification,  something  done  in 
us.  The  one  is  a  relative,  the  other  a 
persona]   change.     The  one  is  a  change 


FOR  DOUBTING   HEARTS.  47 

in  our  state,  the  other  iu  our  nature. 
The  one  is  perfect  at  once,  the  other  is 
gradual.  The  one  is  derived  from  the 
obedience  of  the  Saviour,  the  other  from 
His  Spirit.  The  one  gives  us  a  title  to 
heaven,  the  other  a  meetness  for  it. 
Thus  are  they  distinct,  though  always 
united." 

That  our  justification  as  sinners  before 
God  is  free,  is  beyond  question.  "  We 
are  justified  freely  by  his  grace,  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus, 
whom  God  has  set  forth  as  a  propitiation 
for  sin."  Thus  is  it  manifest  that  in 
dealing  with  God  for  his  favor,  we  are 
not  merchants,  but  suppliants.  We  can- 
not buy,  but  must  beg.  We  have  no 
merit  to  plead.  As  sinners,  we  have 
forfeited  all  expectation  from  God,  ex- 
eopt  a  "  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment 
and  fiery  indignation."  Hence  if  we 
obtain  salvation,  it  can  only  be  as  a  gra- 
tuity.     This   inestimable   blessing   can 


48  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

only  be  secured  "  by  the  faith  of  Christ." 
(Gal.  ii.  16.)  It  is  not  necessary  to  be 
able  to  explain  precisely  how  faith  jus- 
tifies the  soul-.  It  should  be  enough  for 
us  to  know  that  it  is  a  truth  clearly  re- 
vealed. 

Now,  what  is  faith  ?  Is  it  a  belief 
that  Christ  died  for  me  in  particular? 
I  answer  unhesitatingly,  No.  As  previ- 
ously remarked,  the  Bible  teaches  noth- 
ing like  thi^.  Indeed  the  highest  and 
most  seraphic  form  of  faith  may  be  so 
abused  in  the  great  object,  Jesus  Christ, 
as  to  lose  all  regard  to  self,  or  even  its 
own  salvation.  "  Saving  faith  is  not  a 
belief  that  I  have  saving  faith,  but  a 
belief  in  Christ,  the  Saviour,  and  a  re- 
ceiving of  Him  as  offered  in  the  Word, 
a  holding  of  the  recorded  offer  to  be 
credible,  and  a  setting  to  the  seal  that 
God  is  true.  The  delightful  inference, 
that  I  am  a  saved  soul,  may  be  true, — 
may  follow  logically  from  the  truths  be- 


FOB  DOUB  TING  HE  IB  TS.  49 

lieved,  and  my  act  of  believing, — may, 
therefore,  in  some  sort,  be  involved  in 
the  proposition,  I  believe,  and  yet  it  is 
no  part  of  that  faith  which  is  saving. 
The  Bible  nowhere  enjoins  it  as  such. 
It  is  a  happy  fruit  of  faith.  But  some 
will  ask,  can  so  great  a  change  take 
.place  without  the  subject  being  con- 
scious of  it?  We  answer,  no.  The 
subject  is  conscious,  but  something  more 
is  needed  to  assure  him.  He  knows 
there  is  a  change,  but  is  it  the  change  ? 
It  is  asked,  can  it  be  possible  for  a 
prisoner  to  be  loosed  from  such  a  bond 
without  knowing  it  ?  We  answer,  Peter 
was  released  by  an  angel  from  prison, 
"and  went  out  and  followed  him,  and 
wist  not  that  it  was  true  which  was 
done  by  the  angel,  but  he  thought  he 
saw  a  vision."  So  it  may  be  with  the 
emancipated  soul. 

"Have  you,  then,  dear  reader,  faith? 
Jesus   Christ—"  the  gift  of  God,"  came 

5 


5  0  WO  EDS  OF  COMFORT. 

into  the  world  to  save  sinners  in  a  way 
equally  gracious  and  holy.  Do  you  ac- 
quiesce in  a  purpose  which  involves  the 
destruction  of  self and  sin  f  Do  you 
believe  the  record,  that  "  God  hath  given 
unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in 
His  Son  ?"  Have  you  received  Christ 
as  He  is  presented  to  us  in  the  Word 
and  means  of  grace  ?  "  Zaccheus  made 
haste,  and  came  down,  and  received  Him 
joyfully."  Did  you  ever  give  Him  such 
a  welcome  ?  Have  you  received  Him 
wholly — as  your  Prophet,  King,  Priest 
and  Exemplar  ?  Have  you  given  your- 
self to  Him  ?  I  mean  not  your  substance 
only,  or  your  time  only,  but  yourself. 
Can  you  remember  such  a  surrender, — 
an  evening,  perhaps,  when,  like  Isaac  in 
the  field,  you  said, "  Lord,  I  am  thine, 
save  me?'7  or,  the  close  of  a  Sabbath, 
perhaps,  when  in  your  closet  you  read 
and  wept,  and  kneeled,  and  then  rose 
and  wept  and  kneeled  again,  and  said, 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  51 

"  0,  Lord,  other  lords  besides  Thee  have 
had  dominion  over  me,  henceforth  by 
Thee  only  will  I  make  mention  of  Thy 
Name  ?"  Do  you  supremely  prize  the 
Saviour?  He  is  precious  to  them  that 
believe,  is  He  so  to  you  ?  Paul  longed 
to  depart,  to  be  with — James  ?  Isaiah  ? 
No,  but  to  be  with  Jesus  ?  You  have 
some  who  are  dear  to  you  on  earth,  you 
have  more  in  heaven.  Perhaps  you  have 
a  child,  lovely  here,  but  a  cherub  there. 
Perhaps  you  have  a  mother  there,  whose 
knees  were  the  altar  on  which  you  laid 
your  little  hands  to  pray.  But,  thinking 
of  Jesus,  can  you  say, — "  Whom  have  I 
in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there  is  none  on 
earth  I  desire  besides  Thee  ?"  If,  then, 
you  have  thus  "  received  Christ/7  what 
should  prevent  you  claiming  the  privi- 
lege of  having  become  a  child  of  God  ? 
"  To  as  many  as  received  Him,  to  them, 
gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God." 


52  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 


OBEDIENCE. 

Without  obedience,  as  lias  well  been 
remarked,  an  orthodox  creed,  the  clear 
est  knowledge,  high  confidence,  much 
talk  of  Divine  things,  great  zeal  for  a 
party,  will  all  in  vain  be  called  in  to 
denominate  any  one  a  believer  in  Christ. 
We  must  "  walk  in  the  truth." 

Faith  without  works  is  as  the  body 
without  the  soul,  there  is  nothing  vital 
or  operative  in  it.  The  Gospel  is  a 
doctrine  according  to  godliness,  every 
part  of  it  has  a  practical  tendency,  and 
we  are  required  to  obey  it  from  the 
heart.  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  and  keep  it"  "  If  ye  know 
these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them."  "  Ye  are  my  friends,"  says 
Christ,  "  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command 
you."  Thus  it  appears,  that  though  He 
is  the  friend,  He  is  also  the  law-giver. 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  53 

We  must  not  allow  His  goodness  to 
weaken  our  sense  of  His  greatness.  He 
is  the  Prince  as  well  as  the  Saviour. 
He  "  commands  "  his  friends,  and  noth- 
ing less  than  obedience  to  his  will  is  re- 
quired of  us.  And  our  obedience  must 
be  impartial,  we  must  do  i;  whatsoever" 
he  commands  us.  Obedience  may  be 
sincere  without  being  perfect  in  the  de- 
gree, but  it  cannot  be  sincere  without 
being  universal  in  the  principle  and 
disposition.  We  should  be  able  to 
say  with  the  Psalmist,—"  I  esteem  all 
Thy  commandments  concerning  all 
things  to  be  right,  and  I  hate  every 
false  way." 

Thus  does  it  appear  that  the  believer 
must  be  characterized  by  good  works. 
We  do  not  say  such  good  works  are 
meritorious,  for  this  is  impossible,  and 
the  very  notion  subverts  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  But  still  it  is  true,  that  though 
faith  can  alone  justify  the  soul,  works 


54  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

can  alone  justify  faith,  and   prove  it  to 
be  the  operation  of  God. 

Are  you,  then,  dear  reader,  whilst  re- 
lying on  the  promises,  also  striving  to 
obey  the  precepts  ?  I  ask  not  whether 
your  obedience  is  perfect,  for  the  obedi- 
ence of  the  holiest  of  men  falls  far  short 
of  this,  but  I  ask  whether  you  are  sin- 
cerely and  perseveringly  endeavoring  to 
do  you  your  duty  as  God  indicates  it, 
and  are  grieved  in  view  of  your  mani- 
fold delinquencies  and  imperfections  ? 
There  is  a  blemish  in  every  duty,  a  defi- 
ciency in  every  grace,  a  mixture  in  every 
character  ;  it  will  not  do,  therefore,  to 
consider  those  only  the  people  of  God 
who  are  free  from  infirmity  ;  nor  should 
you  regard  yourself  as  an  "  alien  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,"  because 
you  are  conscious  of  numberless  short- 
comings and  imperfections. 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  55 

LOVE    FOR    CHRIST'S    PEOPLE  AND 

CA  USE. 

"We  know,"  says  an  Apostle,  "that 
we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  be- 
cause we  love  the  brethren."  Thus  is 
"  brotherly-love,"  given  as  a  prominent 
mark  of  grace. 

What  is  this  love?  Is  it  only  an  at- 
tachment to  those  belonging  to  our  own 
denomination  ?  Evidently  not.  Un- 
happily the  Christian  Church  is  divided 
into  sects  and  parties,  and  one  of  the 
deplorable  effects  of  this  condition  is, 
the  production  of  sectarian  love  and 
zeal,  while  there  is  comparative  indiffer- 
ence to  other  divisions  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Redeemer.  It  is  too  much  for- 
gotten that  Jesus  said, — "  They  that  are 
not  against  us,  are  for  us."  It  is  well, 
and  perhaps  natural,  to  feel  a  deep  in- 
terest in  our  own  denomination,  but  our 
love  must  rise  above  and  extend  beyond 


56  WORDS  OF  COMFORT- 

that.  We  must  love  all  who  bear  the 
image  of  the  Redeemer — "  all  who  lovo 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity."  We 
must  love  Christians,  and  love  them  in 
spite  of  their  differences  and  faults. 
Without  intending  to  disparage,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  the  importance  which 
attaches  to  an  orthodox  faith,  we  cannot 
but  regard  it  as  painfully  too  true,  in 
these  latter  days,  that 

"  With  zeal  we  watch, 
And  weigh  the  doctrine,  while  the  spirit  'scapes, 
And  in  the  carving  of  our  cummin-seeds, 
Our  metaphysical  hair-splittings,  fail 
To  note  the  orbit  of  the  star  of  love 
Which  never  sets." 

If  we  only  love  those  who  belong  to 
our  particular  branch  of  Zion,  there  is 
so  far  evidence  that  our  religion  is  tinc- 
tured with  unholy  bigotry.  It  is  more 
party-spirit  than  Divine  love.  We  mu.<t 
extend  our  Christian  affection  to  all 
whom  we  have  good  reason  to  believe 


FOB  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  51 

have  become  the  children  of  God  by  the 
regenerating  influence  of  His  Spirit,  and 
the  exercise  of  saving  faith  in  His  Son. 
God  forbid  that  we  should  plead  for  ex- 
cessive liberality  in  this  direction.     We 
are  far  from  undervaluing  Divine  truth. 
It  is  a  good  thing  that  the  heart  be  es- 
tablished with  grace.    The  candor  which 
regards  all  sentiments   alike,  and  con- 
siders no  errors  as  destructive,  is  no  vir- 
tue.    It  is  the  offspring  of  ignorance,  of 
insensibility,  and  of  cold  indifference. 
The  blind  do  not  perceive  the  difference 
of  colors.    The  dead  never  dispute.    Ice, 
as   it   congeals,   aggregates    all   bodies 
within  its  reach,  however  heterogeneous 
their  quality.     Every  virtue  has  certain 
bounds,  and  when  it  exceeds  them  it  be- 
comes a  vice,  for  the  last  step  of  a  virtue, 
and  the  first  of  a  vice,  are  contiguous. 
But  surely  it  is  no  unwarrantable  candor 
to  consider  him  a  Christian,  and  to  claim 
for  him  Christian  love,  whom  we  see  pro- 


58  WORDS  OF  C0MF0R1 

fessing  his  faith  in  Christ,  abhorring  and 
forsaking  sin,  hungering  and  thirsting 
after  righteousness,  diligent  in  approach- 
ing unto  God,  walking  ;t  in  newness  of 
life,"  and  manifesting  spirituality  of  tem- 
per, a  disposition  for  devotion,  benevo- 
lence of  spirit,  and  deadness  to  the 
world. 

As  to  the  cause  of  religion,  it,  too, 
must  be  loved.  Our  hearts  must  be 
united  to  it.  How  may  we  know  that 
this  is  true  of  us  ?  Just  as  we  know 
our  regard  for  a  person  or  a  thing.  Our 
attachment  to  anything  manifests  itself 
by  our  loving  to  hear  of  it,  thinking 
much  of  it,  speaking  much  of  it,  and  de- 
lighting to  remember  it.  We  show  our 
affection  for  an  individual  by  extending 
to  him  our  sympathy,  feeling  his  inter- 
ests to  be  our  own,  weeping  when  he 
weeps,  and  rejoicing  when  he  rejoices. 
The  case  is  the  same  in  regard  to  the 
cause  of  Christ.     If  we  love  it,  it  will 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  59 

be  much  in  our  thoughts,  we  will  strive 
to  recommend  it  by  our  example,  we  will 
endeavor  to  defend  it  when  it  is  assailed, 
we  will  pray,  labor,  and  give  for  its  suc- 
cess, and  exult  in  its  prosperity. 

A  desire  to  see  others  saved,  accom- 
panied with  corresponding  effort,  is 
strong  evidence  of  being  in  a  gracious 
state.  It  is  recorded  of  that  eminent 
minister,  the  Rev.  John  Howe,  that  in 
his  latter  days  he  greatly  desired  to  at- 
tain such  a  knowledge  of  Christ,  and 
feel  such  a  sense  of  his  love,  as  might 
be  a  foretaste  of  the  joys  of  heaven. 
After  his  death,  a  paper  was  found  in 
his  Bible  recording  how  God  had  an- 
swered his  prayer.  One  morning  (and 
he  noted  the  day)  he  awoke,  his  eyes 
swimming  with  tears,  overwhelmed  with 
a  sense  of  God's  goodness  in  shedding 
down  his  grace,  into  the  hearts  of  men. 
He  never  could  forget  the  joy  of  these 
moments  ;  they  made  him  long  still  more 


60  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

ardently  for  that  heaven,  which,  from 
his  youth,  he  had  planted  to  behold. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Guthrie,  in  a  sermon  on 
the  text,  "  The  tree  is  known  by  its 
fruit,"  after  specifying  certain  other  tests 
of  genuine  piety,  proceeds  to  say  : — 
"  Again,  when  you  see  transgressors,  is 
it  with  indifference,  or  with  somewhat 
of  the  feelings  of  Him  who  said,  I  saw 
transgressions  and  was  grieved — rivers 
of  wrater  ran  down  mine  eyes,  because 
they  keep  not  thy  law,  0  Lord  ?  Again, 
when  you  think  of  perishing  souls,  is 
yours  the  spirit  of  Cain,  or  of  Christ  ? 
Can  you  no  more  stand  by  with  folded 
hands  to  see  sinners  perishing  than  men 
drowning  ?  Are  you  moved  by  such  gene- 
rous impulse  as  draws  the  hurrying 
crowd  to  the  pool  where  one  is  sinking, 
and  moves  some  brave  man,  at  the  jeop- 
ardy of  life,  to  leap  in  and  pluck  him 
from  the  jaws  of  death  ?  There  is  no 
better  evidence  that  we  have  received 


FOB  DOUB  TING  HE  A  RTS.  61 

the  nature  as  well  as  the  name  o  f  Christ, 
than  an  anxious  wish  to  save  lost  souls, 
and  a  sympathy  with  the  joy  of  angels 
over  everv  sinner  that  is  converted. 
Lot  me  illustrate  this  by  an  example — a 
picture  drawn  from  life. 

"  Years  ago,  and  in  a  parish  which  I 
knew,  there  lived  a  woman  notorious  in 
the  neighborhood  for  profane  swearing, 
habits  of  drunkenness,  and  manners  rude, 
coarse,  as  well  as  irreligious.  She 
feared  not  God,  neither  regarded  man, 
and  trained  up  her  children  for  the  devil. 
One  evening  she  happened  to  be  within 
ear-shot  of  a  preacher,  and  as  he  was 
emptying  his  quiver  among  the  crowd, 
an  arrow  from  the"  bow,  drawn  at  a  ven- 
ture, was  lodged  in  her  heart.  Remark- 
able example  of  free,  sovereign,  subduing 
grace  !  She  was  converted.  Her  case, 
as  much  as  that  of  the  thief  on  the  cross, 
of  the  jailor  at  Philippi,  of  Saul  on  his 
way  to  Damascus,  was  one  of  instant 
6 


62  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

conversion — day  burst  on  her  soul  with- 
out a  dawn.  She  hastened  home.  She 
found  her  family  asleep,  and  saw  in  each 
child  a  never-dying  soul,  that  her  own 
hand  had  rocked  into  deeper,  fatal  slum- 
bers. Seized  with  an  intense  desire  to 
have  them  saved,  she  could  not  delay 
the  matter  till  to-morrow,  and  so,  rush- 
ing on  the  sleepers  as  if  the  bed  beneath 
them  had  been  in  flames,  she  shook 
them,  woke  them,  crying,  Arise,  call  upon 
thy  God !  And  there,  at  the  midnight 
hour,  with  her  children  kneeling  round 
her,  her  eyes  streaming  with  tears,  her 
voice  trembling  with  emotion,  did  that 
poor  mother  cry  to  God,  that  he  would 
have  mercy  also  on  them,  and  pluck 
these  brands  from  the  burning. 

"  Such  fruit  grows  not  in  any  but  re- 
newed hearts.  So  to  feel  proves  what 
no  profession  can,  that  the  same  mind  is 
in  us  that  was  in  Jesus  Christ.  Nor  is 
there  room   to  doubt,  that,  if  you  bear 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  63 

such  saintly  and  heavenly  fruit,  you  are 
one  with  Him  who,  communicating  the 
influences  of  the  Spirit  to  his  people,  as 
the  tree  does  its  sap  to  the  boughs,  hath 
said,  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches. 
Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you." 

How  is  it,  then,  dear  reader,  with  you 
in  the  two  particulars  just  noticed  ?  Do 
you  not  feel  your  heart  warm  towards 
those  whom  you  regard  as  partakers  of 
the  grace  of  eternal  life  ?  Do  you  not 
find  pleasure  in  associating  with  them  ? 
Are  you  not  prompted,  as  far  as  you  are 
able,  to  bear  their  burdens  ?  And  do 
you  not  feel  your  heart  rising  toward 
God,  and  count  yourself  happy  in  long- 
ing and  laboring  for  the  extension  of 
his  kingdom  ?  I  ask  not  whether  there 
are  variations  in  your  experience  touch- 
ing these  points,  for  such  variations  are 
to  be  expected.  I  only  inquire  whether 
God,  who  was  once  to  you  a  dream, 
sometimes  a  dream  faint  as  the  faintest 


64  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

vision  of  the  night,  which  flits  across  the 
mind  and  leaves  no  trace,  sometimes  a 
dream  of  higher  power  and  more  defi- 
nite form,  but  still  at  last  a  dream,  u 
not  now  the  real,  abiding  object  of  your 
supreme  regard,  and  whether  it  is  not 
your  highest  aim  to  please  him  and  en- 
joy the  light  of  his  life-giving  counte- 
nance. And  can  these  things  be  true  of 
one  who  is  not  a  Christian  ? 

Tests  might  be  multiplied.  I  might 
tell  how  the  Christian  likes  the  Word 
of  Truth,  as  the  child  it's  mothers  breast 
— likes  the  house  of  God,  where  the 
spirit  of  life  is  wont  to  be  given,  and 
life  mingles  with  life,  and  warms  and 
blazes — likes  the  Sabbath,  the  foretaste, 
the  preparation  of  eternity,  and  likes 
prayer,  the  strong  arm  of  life,  the  key 
of  life,  more  abundant.  But  on  these 
points,  so  plain  and  familiar,  I  need  not 
enlarge,  except  to  say  that  such  a  taste* 
cannot  exist  in  any  one  whose  heart  has 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  65 

not  been  changed  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Most  certainly  the  "  carnal  mind  "  has  no 
such  affinities  and  attachments. 

Yield  not,  then,  to  the  doubts  and 
fears  which  may  assail  you.  The  sun 
still  shines,  even  when  covered  with 
clouds,  and  you  are  not  to  question  your 
piety  because  misgivings  eclipse  or  dark- 
en your  consciousness  of  an  interest  in 
the  favor  of  God.  Neither  are  you  to 
regard  your  apprehensions  concerning 
your  spiritual  state  as  unbelief.  They 
are  not  so.  We  are,  indeed,  commanded 
to  "  fear,  lest  a  promise  being  left  us  of 
entering  into  rest,  any  of  us  should 
seem  to  come  short  of  it."  Fear  of 
failure  is  one  method  which  God  adopts 
to  secure  the  final  and  complete  salva- 
tion of  his  people.  Be  it  yours  to  "  hold 
fast  the  profession  of  your  faith  without 
wavering."  The  tender  fruits  which 
now  grow  from  the  new  nature  which 
you  have  received  will  gradually  mature 
6* 


66  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

and  strengthen.  Though  now  you  can 
but  see  men  as  trees  walking,  soon  you 
will  be  able  to  look  with  a  firm  and 
steady  gaze.  Though  now  you  tremble 
under  temptation,  soon  will  you  be  able 
to  offer  a  firm  resistance.  Though  now 
your  peace  be  but  as  the  rill  that  gurgles 
from  the  mountain  rock,  it  is  the  promise 
of  God  that  hereafter  it  shall  "  flow  at 
a  river."  If,  as  we  trust  is  the  case, 
you  have  committed  your  soul  to  Jesus  ; 
if,  realizing  your  guilty  and  ruined  con- 
dition, you  have  cast  yourself  upon  him 
as  your  only  hope  and  help,  saying  : 

"  Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 
Tis  all  that  I  can  do  ; " 

this  is  all  you  need  do,  this  is  all  He 
asks  you  to  do,  and  there  is  no  good 
reason  why  you  should  be  dejected  and 
distressed.  Your  path,  instead  of  lead- 
ing you  over  high  mountain  summits, 
may  often  lead  you  through  dark  and 


F OR  DOUB TING  HEARTS.  6 1 

dreary  valleys,  yet  it  is  the  path  which 
God,  who  is  too  wise  to  err,  too  good  to 
be  unkind,  has  chosen  to  conduct  you  to 
heaven.     Pursue  that  path  and  it  will 
brighten  as  you  advance.     "  Then  shall 
ye  know,  if  ye  follow  on  to  know  the 
Lord."      Live  near  to    Christ,   relying 
on   his   righteousness,   and   striving   to 
imitate  his  example.    Look  not  so  much 
to  your  own  heart  as  to  Him  who  was 
lifted  up  on  the  cross,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.    The  bitten  Israel- 
ite was  not  healed  by  looking  at  and  ex- 
amining his  wound,  but  by  gazing  upon 
the  brazen  serpent  elevated  upon  the 
pole,  neither  is  the  Christian  to  expect 
his  sanctification  to  advance  by  looking 
continually  at  his  sins,  but  by  keeping 
the  eye  of  faith  steadily  fixed  on  Him 
who  "  died   for   our   offences,  and  rose 
again  for  our  justification." 

"  We  have  already  said,"  remarks  the 


68  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

Rev.  Dr.  Vinet,  "  how  necessary  self-con- 
sideration is,  and  we  need  not  repeat, 
but  though  it  is  impossible  to  contem- 
plate our  misery  without  being  urged 
towards  Christ,  or  to  contemplate  Jesus 
Christ  without  being  recalled  to  a  sense 
of  our  misery  ;  this  misery  is  not,  how. 
ever,  the  object  of  saving  faith,  and  the 
view  of  this  misery  cannot  place  in  our 
heart  the  elements  of  life  and  earnests 
of  salvation.     It  must  even  be  confessed 
that,  though  powerless  to  save,  it  is  able 
to  destroy.     It  alternately  discourages 
and  sours,  it  even  does  both  at  the  same 
time.    It  exhausts,  and  in  barren  regrets 
enervates  the  soul  which  lives  on  joy 
and  hope,  but  dies  of  sadness,  and  the 
only  life  which  remains   to   it  in   this 
death,  is   ill-humor,    peevishness,    mur- 
muring and  envy. 

"  Either  Jesus  Christ  must  be  looked 
at  incessantly,  or  we  must  look  inces- 
santly at  sin.     The  eye,  at  least,  if  it  is 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  69 

not  blind,  has  no  alternative,  and  if  it 
is  certain  that  we  shall  not  lose  sight  of 
our  misery  by  looking  at  Christ  cruci- 
fied, because  this  misery  is,  as  it  were, 
engraved  upon  the  cross,  it  is  equally 
certain  that  in  looking  at  our  misery, 
we  may  lose  sight  of  Jesus  Christ,  be- 
cause the  cross  is  not  naturally  engraved 
on  the  image  of  our  misery.  An  Apostle 
was  blamed  for  wishing  to  put  his  hands 
into  the  wounds  of  his  risen  Master.  We 
all  concur  in  blaming  him,  and  ask,  why 
did  he  not  rather  put  them  into  his  own 
wounds,  the  wounds  of  his  soul?  But 
in  another  view,  the  example  of  Thomas 
should  furnish  us  with  a  rule,  for  it  is 
not  into  our  own  wounds,  but  into  those 
of  Jesus,  that  we  ought  to  put  our  hands, 
and  it  is  in  this  sense  that  we  say  to  the 
class  of  believers  whom  we  have  in  view  : 
Look,  yes  look  everywhere,  look  to  the 
depth  of  your  misery,  but  look  more  to 
Jesus  Christ,  at  least  never  consent  to 


70  WORDS  OF  COMFORT 

see  yourself  and  your  sin,  except  through 
the  medium  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  his 
triumphant  love." 

Him  on  yonder  cross  I  love, 
Naught  on  earth  I  else  count  dear  ; 

May  He  mine  forever  prove, 
Who  is  now  bo  inly  near. 

Here  I  stand ;  whate'er  may  come, 

Days  of  sunshine  or  of  gloom, 

From  this  word  I  will  not  move, 

Him  upon  the  cross  I  love ! 

'Tis  not  hidden  from  my  heart 
What  true  love  must  often  bring ; 

Want  and  grief  have  sorest  smart, 
Care  and  scorn  can  sharply  sting. 

Nay,  but  if  Thy  will  were  such, 

Bitterest  death  were  not  too  much. 

Dark  though  here  my  course  may  prove, 

Him  upon  the  cross  I  love  I 

Rather  sorrows  such  as  these, 

Rather  love's  acutest  pain, 
Than  without  Him  days  of  ease, 

Riches  false  and  honors  vain.  ' 
Count  me  strange  when  I  am  true  ; 
What  He  hates  I  will  not  do  * 


FOR  DOUBTING  HEARTS.  71 

Sneers  no  more  my  heart  can  move, 
Him  upon  the  cross  I  love ! 

Know  ye  whence  my  strength  is  drawn, 
Fearless  thus  the  fight  to  wage  ? 

Why  my  heart  can  laugh  to  scorn 
Fleshly  weakness,  Satan's  rage  ? 

'Tis,  I  know,  the  love  of  Christ ; 

Mighty  is  that  love  unpriced. 

What  can  grieve  me,  what  can  move  ? 

Him  upon  the  cross  I  love ' 

Once  the  eyes  that  now  are  dim 

Shall  discern  the  changeless  love, 
That  hath  led  us  home  to  Him, 

That  hath  crown'd  us  far  above. 
Would  to  God  that  all  below 
What  that  love  is  now  might  know 
And  their  hearts  this  word  approve 
Him  upon  the  cross  I  love ! 


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